


Rebel of Mandalore

by anne_the_and_sign



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Mandalorian Reader, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:08:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28632279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anne_the_and_sign/pseuds/anne_the_and_sign
Summary: Poe Dameron knows most members of the Resistance, but he realizes there's one person in particular that he's not familiar with. A closed-off, quiet Mandalorian warrior.
Relationships: Finn (Star Wars) & Reader, Poe Dameron/Reader, Poe Dameron/You, Rey (Star Wars) & Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been posting this on Tumblr, but I've realized I'd like to share it here as well. I'm pretty proud of it, so I hope you all like it too!

Poe can’t remember when you joined the Resistance, but he definitely remembers the first conversation you had. You were rooting around in one of the supply closets looking for some spare tools to fix a small problem on your ship. Poe was passing by with BB-8 and nearly tripped over your feet. He was a little startled when you shifted and stood up with a small toolbox to reveal your painted beskar helmet and tell him to watch where he was going. After stuttering out an apology, he hurried down the hall and was subject to his droid’s teasing all day.  
Your second encounter went more smoothly. BB-8 was wandering through the mess hall looking for Poe, but came across you first. You were heading in the opposite direction to check your ship after a mission and stopped to help the droid out. Poe himself was talking with Finn about whatever reckless adventure Rey had recently returned from when his droid came barreling up to him with you just behind.  
“Dameron, your droid was looking for you.” It was bad enough for Poe that your helmet hid any facial expression, but your modulator made it hard to decipher your voice too.  
“Thank you…”  
“You can call me Lori.” You nodded slightly to Finn. “Trooper.”  
Then you were on your way again. Finn seemed perfectly comfortable with you calling him trooper, though Poe knew his best friend didn’t like reminders of his past with the First Order. That only added to the ever-growing list of questions Poe had about you.  
“Uh… Finn?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Who exactly is Lori?”  
“Haven’t you met her before? She’s a solo pilot from Mandalore. No one knows her actual name, so we all call her Lori. I thought you knew that.”  
Poe stood there for a moment thinking. Why hadn’t he talked with you more? Were you always out on missions? Where did you go when you were on base? It would take three weeks for him to catch sight of your teal painted helmet and patched cloak again. He barely got up the nerve to approach you in the large room full of droids and ship parts when you turned around and caught him in the visor of your helmet.  
“Hey, Lori.”  
Your helmet tilted to the side slightly.  
“Do you need something, Dameron?”  
“Uh… I… just thought I’d… check on you?” He hated how uncertain he sounded. Escaping the First Order with Finn wasn’t as unnerving as trying to have a simple conversation with you.  
“Why?” You sat down next to an R4 droid the same shade of teal as your armor and opened a panel to start pulling at some wires.  
“Well, I just… noticed you around? I thought it might be nice to get to know you.”  
You didn’t answer for so long that he thought you might have forgotten he was there. When you finally looked up from the wires, he was struck by how detailed the design on your helmet was. He hadn’t noticed it in passing, but it looked incredible.  
“What would you like to know, Dameron?”  
He had to actually think about that for a minute. What would he ask any other new friend?  
“Is this your droid?”  
“Yep. R4-C6. My grandfather designed his special functions, but I’ve rebuilt and tweaked him over the years.”  
“That’s really interesting. What can he do?”  
“He helps with minor ship repairs on base and in the field, and I programmed him for stealth to help with intel retrieval. But he’s not exactly one of a kind. Not like your little orange friend.”  
“BB-8?” Stupid clarification. Of course you meant BB-8.  
“He’s amazing. Quite a conversationalist too. I would guess he gets that from you.”  
Poe let out a chuckle, feeling his cheeks grow warm as your helmet tilted up towards him again.  
“Yeah, I guess so.”  
You gave no indication that you were going to pick up the conversation from there, so Poe wracked his brain for another topic when his droid came rolling in behind Finn.  
“Poe, I think BB-8 followed Rey during her training again. His beeping sounds a little off and he’s a little twitchy.” The former stormtrooper glanced at you, then Poe. “Hey, Lori. Do you think you can help?”  
“No problem, trooper. BB, come.” The droid faithfully rolled forward and came to a jerky stop right beside R4. Your own droid was quickly forgotten as you looked up to Poe again. “Are you okay with me taking a look at him?”  
“Yeah, of course.” Finn gave him a look, knowing perfectly well that Poe was particular about people fixing up his droid. Thankfully, he said nothing as he left the room.  
“Does BB follow Rey often?”  
“More than I’d like, I guess. He tends to get trees dropped on him, but I can’t keep him from going.”  
Something about his deadpan tone, his complete exhaustion with trying to keep his friendly droid in check made you chuckle. It was soft, barely coming through your helmet, but it made Poe’s heart flutter. He’d do just about anything to hear that again.  
“Glad I’m not the only one with a droid who doesn’t always listen. One of those communications officers tried to suggest I wipe R4’s memory once and rework his processor, but they learned pretty quickly that I don’t take suggestions about my droid.”  
“I get that. If you don’t mind my asking,” Poe settled himself on a stool behind the two droids, taking care to keep plenty of space between you, “how long have you been with the Resistance? I figured you were pretty new since I haven’t seen you around much.”  
“A few months. I don’t spend much time in plain sight; I’m not exactly social, and the beskar tends to intimidate most people.” You sound almost disappointed in the effect of your armor. Poe thought it may have just been your modulator though.  
“Hm. Well, if it helps, seeing you with BB-8 makes me feel less intimidated.”  
“I managed to intimidate the Poe Dameron, poster boy of the Resistance? Now I’m a little proud. I didn’t know I was that good.” You chuckle again, which makes Poe laugh. He wishes he could see you every day.  
“What can I say? You wear the armor well.”  
“Thank you.” Your gratitude doesn’t go unnoticed, so Poe feels driven to ask another question.  
“I feel like I’ve got to ask. Why do you always wear the armor? Are you just prepared to leave for a mission at any time?”  
“It’s a creed. I swore it years ago. This armor is only off when it absolutely has to be.”  
“Even the helmet?”  
“Especially the helmet. I can count on one hand the number of people who have seen my face since I was child. The ones that are still alive anyway.” He knows he messed up now. You sound sad again. And a little bit angry.  
You finish with BB-8, send him rolling around the room. Then you close up R4 and pack up your tools. In seconds, before Poe can really put together what happened, you and your droid are gone with the door closing behind you. BB-8 rolls up to him, beeping happily at his improvements, but he’s barely aware. The next several days are spent in a haze for Poe as he tries to figure out exactly where he went wrong.  
Finn and Rey are no help, and no one else on base even seems to have spoken to you since your arrival. Rey is too focused on her training and has only actually had one conversation with you, which consisted of you asking for directions to the mess hall your first day and her offering to accompany you which you turned down. Finn refuses to say or do anything to help, insisting that Poe can deal with it without his intervention. He knows it will take time, but he’s determined now to become your friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Poe, despite his desperate efforts to find you and fix things, doesn’t catch sight of you for over a month. He looked up any and all information he could find on Mandalorian culture which, admittedly, wasn’t much. He learned that your armor, aside from being made of a very rare material, was incredibly important to you and that your helmet rarely, if ever, came off. He also knew that family was practically sacred and that it could include anyone and anything. So when he finally saw you, he jumped at the chance to try befriending you again.   
“Lori! Hey.” You didn’t move to respond to him, but R4 beeped at him in acknowledgement.   
“I know I messed up last time we talked, and I’m really sorry.”  
“I’m listening.” You don’t quite sound like you’re listening, and you still have your head buried in your ship’s mechanics.  
“I really do want to be your friend, and I want to be respectful of your culture too. Can we start over, maybe? I promise, if I do anything to offend you, I’ll leave you alone for good.”  
You stuck one hand out from the open panel. Confused, Poe gingerly moved to shake your hand. You quickly shook him off and pointed at your tools.  
“Hand me that socket wrench, Dameron.”  
“Right, yeah.” Poe quickly handed the tool over and ran a hand through his hair. Why was he so unbearably awkward with you?  
“So what did you learn?”  
“Excuse me?” Poe sat on the floor next to R4 and the teal droid beeped at him once again.   
“I would guess you wouldn’t attempt another conversation with me if you didn’t have any answers about where you went wrong last time, and I told Finn not to help you. Considering your unending curiosity, I think you went looking for information on Mandalorians. I’d like to know what the Resistance has in the archives on my people.”  
You kept fiddling with parts and pulling out a few odds and ends to toss them to R4. The droid grabbed each one and tucked it away, probably for you to mess with later. Poe, knowing he’d been caught, fessed up immediately.   
“I didn’t learn much. I know that your armor is important, only beat out by family. And that your helmet is only removed in front of your most trusted family, if it’s removed at all. I would guess that you haven’t had anyone to trust that much since before the war.”  
“You’d be correct on all counts. Generally. My mother would tell me stories of Mandalorians who removed their buy’ce all the time, but I was raised to believe that the sight of my face was a privilege, not a right. I’ve held to that.”  
“Buy’ce? I’m guessing that means helmet?”  
“In Mando’a, yes. The language of my people.”  
“Is there any chance you could teach me that?”  
You slid out from beneath your ship and stared at him intently. Poe was about to backtrack and apologize, but you spoke up.   
“In time, maybe you’ll pick up on it. For now, you can focus on not messing up in Basic.”  
You were decently friendly with him after that. Finn was definitely closer with you than Poe was, but he made steady progress. BB-8 often followed you and R4 around if he wasn’t needed elsewhere, which gave Poe plenty of excuses to spend more time with you. Most days, your discussions were focused on the Resistance or Poe’s life and friends, but after nearly two months of slowly developing your friendship, he finally decided to test the waters.   
You were just leaving your quarters with an empty tray from the mess hall when the pilot caught up with you.   
“Lori.”  
“Dameron. You have a question?”  
“How do you always know?” Poe fell in step with you and let you lead him through the base.  
“Because you’re terrible at disguising your emotions, ner burc’ya. Now what did you want to ask?”  
“I was curious about what you’ve chosen as a family. From what I know, anyone and anything can be your family, so if I’m allowed to ask, what’s yours?”  
You stopped in the doorway leading outside to the forest just beyond the base. Poe wanted to believe he was getting better at reading you, because he could swear you were stunned by the question; like you hadn’t thought about it before.   
“Well, when I was a child, my aliit was my ba’buir and my buir.”  
“Your grandfather and mom?”  
“Yeah. Once I’d lost them and swore the creed, R4 was all I had. I suppose Finn would be the closest thing now, I see him as a vod. A brother.”  
“And me?”  
“Still a burc’ya. But you’re getting there, Dameron.”  
Poe didn’t want to push you any further, so he let you wander to the treeline to have some time for yourself. He instead turned back and went to find Finn. Despite having heard you use the term before, he wasn’t sure what it meant. So he tracked down Finn in the mess hall to ask him.   
“Finn, buddy, I’ve got a question.”  
The former stormtrooper looked up to his best friend and pushed his tray away to focus on him.   
“Fire away.”  
“You mentioned once that Lori has been teaching you Mando’a, right? Can you tell me what burc’ya means? I’ve heard her call me that a few times, but I’m not quite sure what it’s supposed to mean.”  
Finn chuckled lightly.   
“If you’re worried it’s an insult or something, it’s not. It means friend.”  
The grin on Poe’s face at the reassurance lit up the whole room. He was your friend! He hadn’t messed up again yet! Now that he knew a little more, he was more driven than ever to keep getting to know you.   
Of course, his plans were disrupted by R4 speeding into the mess hall the next day beeping wildly. BB-8 beeped back at him and the two droids started racing back and forth until Poe stood up and kneeled in front of R4.   
“Hey, hey. Bud, you gotta slow down. Talk to me.”  
The droid beeped again, a little slower, and took off out of the mess hall. Poe followed with BB-8 close behind. When your droid reached the command center, he finally stopped to let Poe open the door. Poe headed straight for the general, hoping for some answers.   
“General Organa! What happened?”  
She turned around and patted R4 comfortingly. She couldn’t seem to make eye contact with Poe or Finn, who was standing beside her looking distraught.  
“It’s Lori. She was out on a short mission, just a check up on a minor base. We lost contact just after she said she was coming back, and R4 came home without her.”  
“You think the First Order got her?”  
“Or pirates. We’re trying to track her down now.”  
It felt like a punch to the gut. The very idea of you losing a fight or letting someone get the drop on you seemed impossible to him. What could you be going through right now? Where were you and who could you be with?


	3. Chapter 3

You could hardly imagine a more annoying predicament than getting captured by a group of Outer Rim pirates. You’d been so focused on leaving the small base too near your old home planet for comfort when they got you. R4 tried to defend you, but you insisted he get back to your ship and return to base. In the meantime, you led a chase through the thick trees and bushes before one of the pirates caught you with a tree branch to the face (helmet really, but whatever), then electrocuted you when you hit the ground.   
When you came to, you were hog-tied on the floor of a dirty old rust bucket with four pirates looking you over and absentmindedly discussing removing your helmet to sell off your armor. The ship jolted slightly as it came out of hyperspace, and you lifted your head to acknowledge the plotting parts dealers.   
“If you lay one finger on this helmet I will kill every single one of you in the most painful way I can conjure up. Understood?”  
“Ha! You and what army, bucket head? In case you haven’t noticed, you’re a little tied up.”  
“And vastly outnumbered.” Another jumped in to back up his friend.   
“A great deal of confidence for an utreekov who’s never fought me. My a’den alone outweighs any petty trick in your book, chak’pirun.”  
The pirates simply laughed and braced themselves for landing, leaving you to jostle around again and try to brace yourself against the floor. It didn’t work very well, leaving you pressed to the disgusting floor, swearing to yourself you’d deep-clean your armor when you got out of this. Two of the pirates reached for you and dragged you to your feet, cutting the ties from your wrists to your ankles before strapping on another set of cuffs for good measure. You were then led out of the ship while the rest of the crew unloaded crates and argued over wages.   
“Where are you utreekovs taking me?”  
“We recognize your armor, tough girl. Mandalorians are pretty rare these days. We found a buyer who can pay a handsome price for you.”  
You despised being called ‘tough girl’. The name hadn’t been uttered in relation to you since your childhood and you weren’t about to let it be soiled by pirates. So when you took your next step, you let your foot swing wide and tripped the pirate to your left who’d made the comment. He hit the dirt and quickly got up, smacking the back of your helmet, which only made him wince and hold his hand close to his chest.   
“Watch your step. Wouldn’t want to lose my escort now.”  
If these disgusting men thought they could sell you for a profit, you would spend every second with them making them miserable. That was why the following three hours passed with you tripping the men, knocking them over, and insulting them in every language you could come up with. By the time half a dozen stormtroopers showed up to the small back alley market with a briefcase undoubtedly full of credits, your temporary captors couldn’t get rid of you fast enough.   
“Well boys, I’d like to say it was a pleasure, but…” You trailed off and ignored the rude gestures the men made as you were led away. Instead, you looked between the stormtroopers taking you into custody. “So. Who’s making introductions? I can go first if you’re nervous.”  
Two of the troopers grabbed your arms and half-dragged you down the street to a waiting transport ship. You made irritated comments the whole way; asking their names, questioning their position in the First Order, asking what room you’d be given on board and if you’d have a view. You guessed the troopers had been trained to be more tolerant than the pirates, so you received almost no reaction to your antics. After walking for what had to have been at least an hour, you were on board a Star Destroyer being strapped down to await interrogation.   
“Thanks for the walk boys. We’ll have to do this again sometime.”  
One of the troopers finally seemed to lose his cool as he tightened the restraints more violently than necessary.   
“Do you ever shut up?”  
“Not really, no. Is that a problem?” You spoke sweetly just to bother him further, which you guessed worked because he stomped out of the room to stand guard. “Aw, no need to go storming out. Get it? Storming out?”  
The only response was the door closing and the deafening silence that followed. Now would have been the perfect time to comm to base and let them know what had happened, but your comm had gotten fried when you got electrocuted and smashed when the pirates threw you onto the ship. Now you would just have to count on R4 reporting what he knew and the Resistance members figuring out where you were now. In the meantime, you would just have to wait and endure whatever the First Order had in store for you.   
It took so long for anyone to come back that you actually drifted off. You had no way of knowing how long it had been, but a sharp pain woke you up. You winced and stirred, remembering your predicament when the restraints kept you down on the hard tilted table.   
“Wake up, Mandalorian.”  
A figure stood before you in all black. His mask would have been intimidating were it not for the cape that somehow reminded you of children playing superheroes when you were young.   
“What’s up, kid? You playing the villain with your friends today?”   
The pain returned again for a moment when you made the comment. This guy definitely didn’t share your sense of humor.   
“You’re going to tell me exactly what I want to know or things will be very painful for you.”  
“Yeah? And what do you think I know that would be of any interest to you?”  
“The location of the Resistance base.”  
“Ha! Right!” You let out a loud guffaw, which sounded garbled and strange through your modulator. “You’re dreaming. Even if I knew anything about the Resistance, I wouldn’t tell it to a wannabe Darth Vader trying to prove he’s dangerous and powerful. You can keep me here forever and you’ll never get a word out of me.”  
Overwhelming pain erupted in your mind, taking over your entire body and burning through you. The dark figure stood stock still as he watched your misery.  
“We’ll see about that.”


	4. Chapter 4

Poe, Finn and R4 were collectively losing their minds with worry, which was negatively affecting the entire base. R4 never left Finn’s side and Finn never left the control room. Poe was out on flights constantly, trying to run down any leads the Resistance could find. Leia was about ready to sedate both men and shut down your droid just to get a moment of peace.   
It took three weeks for anyone to get a real lead on you. Rey had spent an entire day in deep meditation reaching out to you, desperately trying to get even a trace of your path. She finally managed to get a short vision of some pirates on a desert planet discussing their windfall of credits after capturing and selling a Mandalorian warrior. Seconds later, she was running through the halls to her best friends.   
“Finn! General! Get Poe on the comms now!”  
Poe’s irate voice came over the comms through the headphones the Resistance members wore.   
“What is it? I’m almost back from Tatooine. I got nothing.”  
“I saw something, Poe. Do you have enough fuel to reach Florrum?”  
“No, I’ll have to stop and refuel before I can do that. Why? What exactly did you see?”  
“Some pirates were talking about selling a Mandalorian. I can explain more when you get here.”  
Five minutes later, Rey met Poe and BB-8 at the hangar and the friends ran back to a meeting room to discuss and plan with Finn and Leia. It would take just as long to get there alone as it would with all of them, so it was agreed that Finn, Rey, Poe, BB-8, R4, and Chewie would take the Millenium Falcon to Florrum. Once there, they would track down the pirates Rey saw and interrogate them for more information. Everyone was still on edge though, which led to bickering amongst the whole group, even R4.   
“Watch your mouth, R4! Does Lori let you talk like that?”  
Poe’s offended shout was answered by more aggravated beeps and whines from your astromech. Rey, ever the peacekeeper, tried to intervene.   
“Alright, alright. Take a breath Poe. Why don’t you go pilot with Chewie while Finn and I take care of R4?”  
The pilot sighed heavily and followed her suggestion. Once he was settled at the controls, he started muttering, mostly to himself.   
“I can’t believe we haven’t found her yet. She’s smarter than this; tougher. I swear, if those scummy pirates sold her to the First Order…”  
Chewie watched the frustrated young pilot. He understood wanting someone he cared about to be safe, even when it was out of his control. Unfortunately, he also knew that nothing he could say would ease Poe’s worries. So he focused instead on getting to Florrum as fast as the ship could go.   
Finn and Rey sat on the floor of the ship with BB-8, trying to calm down R4. Your droid had been just as frantic now as when he’d returned to base without you. He was still beeping consistently, but his message was less frustrated now that Poe was out of the room. Despite your developing friendship with the pilot, R4 was still wary of him.   
Finn had asked you before why your droid seemed to have a problem with Poe, but you never really gave him an answer. So he figured giving the upset astromech something to focus on might help.   
“R4, buddy. Do you want to talk for a bit? Just to pass the time?”  
The teal droid gave an affirmative beep.  
“Okay. Do you want to tell us why you and Poe keep fighting?”  
He gave another angry beep, then explained. He’d been with your family since your grandfather built him. He’d been a companion for not only your grandfather, but your mother as well and had been a sort of emergency caretaker for you since your birth. Because of this, the old droid was very protective of you and any insult to you or your way of life put the offender on the droid’s hate list for the foreseeable future. Poe had yet to find his way off the list, but his determination to rescue you was helping.   
“Well, if it helps at all, Poe didn’t mean to offend Lori the first time they talked. He didn’t know enough about her to know what not to say.”  
R4 whined a little and beeped again.   
“We know, buddy.” Rey placed a comforting hand on the droid. “But we’ll find her soon and then you can talk about it all together.”  
BB-8 extended his little lighter and ignited the flame in a show of companionship, which prompted your droid to do the same in return. The two droids shuffled closer and bumped together softly. Taking the cue that BB-8 had it handled, Finn and Rey moved to another spot in the ship to wait out the rest of the trip.   
Rey tried meditating again, though she had little reason to believe she’d actually get a view of you this time. Nevertheless, she closed her eyes and reached out for you. She could hear snippets of conversation; snarky comments in your modulated tone, aggravated commands to stop talking from unfamiliar voices. But she couldn’t see you or your surroundings. It almost felt like something was hiding you somehow. She focused harder, holding tight to what she could reach and extending farther.   
“Hold on everyone, we’re about to land!” She didn’t even feel the ship leave hyperspace.   
Finn was motioning the droids closer for the shaky landing, then let Poe and Chewie lead the way down the ramp. It was disgusting on Florrum. The group knew it was a desert planet, but this was just sad. There wasn’t a living thing to be seen outside the pirate stronghold they’d landed near, and the only sign that the place wasn’t abandoned was the single guard on the wall. Poe headed towards the gate first, quickly followed by R4, then the rest of the group. The gate swung open on its rusty hinges and a dirty, likely drunk pirate waved them through.   
Chewie looked around and stopped at the Weequay that was most likely to be in charge. The woman was sprawled across a chair at the front doors to the building. She watched as goods were brought past her, occasionally stopping them to ask questions about it before a guard would bring the shipment inside. Chewie drew the group’s attention to her and Rey took the lead to approach her.   
“Excuse me, miss?”  
“Who are you, and why are you talking to me?” She sounded bored and settled further into the chair.   
“We’re looking for a woman you kidnapped and sold-”  
“Kidnapped? And sold?” She sat up and glared at Poe. “I’m not some slaver, boy. I don’t trade in people.”  
Finn put a hand on Poe’s shoulder to keep his friend back while Rey stepped in.   
“Of course not, miss…”  
“Oland. I run Florrum, but slaving has never been my business.”  
“We believe you, Miss Oland. A friend of ours was taking care of some business a few weeks ago and she went missing. We haven’t been able to contact her, but we believe some of your pirates may have seen her.”  
One of the disgusting pirates was poking at R4, but received a hard shock from the droid. He smacked R4 then, but both droids flipped out shockers and Chewie pushed the offending pirate back, glaring at him for good measure. Oland and the rest of the group ignored them, but Chewie made sure to show his crossbow to all the pirates milling about to warn them to keep their distance.  
Oland looked less than enthusiastic about the whole encounter, but she took in the sight of the defensive teal droid and the lightsaber on Rey’s belt and stood up.   
“Come inside and we’ll discuss this further.”  
Rey led the way with Finn. Poe followed a few steps behind with BB-8, and Chewie brought up the rear keeping R4 just ahead of him. For everyone’s sake, Rey hoped they could get some answers.


	5. Chapter 5

“I can promise you, Jedi, that if your friend was sold, I had nothing to do with it. I know my business is… unsavory, but I don’t allow anything to do with slavery.”  
“Of course. We would never mean to accuse you of such a thing. We just think our friend was somewhere around here before we lost contact with her, so we were hoping you or your men might have seen or heard from her.” Rey glanced to Poe with a warning look to keep his mouth shut.   
Chewie knelt down and kept R4 quiet as well. The last thing the group needed right now was for Poe and R4 to start a fight and get them all kicked out. Oland had led them to a private room with the door closed behind them. She seemed passive enough so far, but Rey and Finn didn’t want to take any chances of ending her decorum.   
“Why do you think my men have anything to do with her?”  
“I saw a short vision of a few men somewhere here talking about the money they’d just made catching and selling a Mandalorian. They said something about splitting the credits without you because they didn’t want to bother lying about what they’d sold.”  
The Weequay thought for a moment.   
“Do you remember which planet your friend disappeared from?”  
R4 beeped a response. Oland hummed and stroked her chin in thought. Then she stood, moved to the door, and called for one of her men. Once she whispered to him for a moment, he left and she turned back to the Resistance members.   
“I had a small crew around that system a few weeks ago. They didn’t report any problems or unusual business, but a few of them were clearly injured when they returned. They’ll be here in a moment and we’ll talk to them together. If they have lied to me, their punishment will be my responsibility while you go find this friend of yours.”  
A dozen men were led into the room. They looked guilty already and seeing the droid that had escaped them before sealed their fate. The leader tried to turn back, but Oland’s guards kept them in place. R4 tried to attack the men immediately, but Chewie held him back and gently stroked the droid to keep him calm.   
“Do you boys have something you want to tell me?”  
“Nothing comes to mind. Why?” The leader kept glancing over to R4 and shifting.   
“Fess up, Rinkol. You kidnapped a Mandalorian?”  
“Uh… Would you call it kidnapping?”  
“What were you thinking?! All of you! I’ve been very clear about what I tolerate and I’ve been forgiving with you before.”  
“It wasn’t my idea boss!”  
“Korvak you ninny! We all agreed!”  
The men started arguing and fighting. Oland let it go on for a minute as she gave Rey a look that said ‘you see what I have to deal with?’ before shouting for quiet. The room fell silent as the men settled and looked to their boss.   
“I’ll deal with you insolent morons later. For now you’re going to tell our friends here exactly who you sold the Mandalorian to and where.”  
“We stopped on Serenno and sold her to a couple of Stormtroopers, alright? We didn’t think anything of it. It was easy money. Sort of.”  
Finn glanced to Oland, and she nodded for him to speak up. “She give you trouble?”  
“Wouldn’t shut up the whole time. If everyone is like that rambling bucket head, you don’t have to worry about us getting into the slaving business.” The complaint came out of Rinkol’s mouth before he could have the thought to feel sheepish or sound remorseful.   
Poe nearly lunged at him. Finn and Rey jumped forward to hold R4 so Chewie could grab the pilot and keep him back. Oland waved her hand and the men were seized by the guards and led out of the room. The only one she kept there was Korvak. The nervous Twi’lek was fidgeting with his hands and watching Poe try to escape the grip of the Wookie to kill him.   
“Korvak. I’m going to ask you this one time and if you do nothing, your punishment will be as harsh as the one I give your crewmates.” He looked up to Oland and tried to still his hands. “Do you have any idea where the Stromtroopers who bought the Mandalorian took her?”  
“No, boss. We made the exchange at night in a back alley. If I saw the troopers again, maybe I could pick them out.”  
“Did you hear them call each other anything? A number? Or did they mansion a ship they would be on?” Finn stepped forward when Rey nodded to assure him she had a strong hand on R4.   
“Maybe. It’s a little fuzzy I guess.”  
Oland gave him a glare, as if she didn’t believe him.   
“I have an idea.” Rey looked to Oland for permission, then approached Korvak. “I can look into your mind and find the memory. If we can get a ship name or even a call number for the troopers, we might be able to find her.”  
“Will it hurt?” Korvak started fidgeting again.  
“Not if you let it happen. The pain comes in resisting.”  
At Rey’s request, Oland and the Rebels left the room and Korvak sat across from her on the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. Then Rey did the same and started reaching into his mind. It was a mess at first, everything all jumbled up. But she persisted, sorting through everything and finally coming across a night lit by torches and full of quietly arguing vendors. A figure stood between him and another member of the crew. Her teal painted armor was unmistakable.   
“So, you come here often?”  
“Will you just shut up already?” Korvak looked over to Rinkol. “How long is this gonna take?”  
“They’ll be here. If you want her to shut up, you should have gagged her already.”  
“Careful. I bite.” Your modulated voice sounded so different from what Rey had heard from you before.   
In the firelight, your helmet swiveled to point at Korvak. Even without any glimpse of your face, it was obvious you were glaring at him, nearly daring him to try messing with your helmet to gag you.   
“Why didn’t we just strip the armor and sell that to someone else?”  
“Because she was hard enough to catch as it was. If you want to try getting it off of her, be my guest.”  
None of the men looked willing to attempt that. Rey had the feeling that you’d been threatening the men all day and had managed to garner a decent amount of fear. A few moments later, six stormtroopers approached with a case full of credits.   
“This her?”  
“Yep. We ought to charge more for all the trouble she’s caused us.”  
“You’ll take what we give you and nothing more. GN-3419, GN-3421 take her. Let’s move out.” The two troopers took hold of your arms as commanded.   
Korvak seemed to feel the slightest bit guilty for selling you to the First Order. Then you opened your mouth again.   
“Well boys, I’d like to say it was a pleasure, but…”   
And with that last snarky remark, you disappeared into the shadows with your new captors. The men around Korvak opened the case of credits and ogled over them before closing it again and moving out.   
Rey sat back for a moment to focus on her surroundings again. Korvak was still kneeling in front of her, now holding his head tightly. His breathing slowly evened out and he looked up at her slowly.   
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”  
“No. I’ve just never felt anything like that before. I tried to fight it for a moment, but it hurt, so I stopped.”  
“Thank you for letting me see, Korvak. I’ll make sure Oland knows you helped.”  
Within ten minutes, the whole group was back on the Millenium Falcon heading for base. Finn recognized the numbers of the stormtroopers and had a decent guess of where they’d taken you, but it would require more planning and preparation than could be done on board. Poe had to take a seat with BB-8 while Rey helped Chewie fly. He was practically shaking with rage at the knowledge of what had happened to you and fear at what could still happen before he could reach you.


	6. Chapter 6

The first time someone comes to rescue you, it’s Finn. Rey is close behind urging him to hurry. He carefully approaches and undoes your restraints. He helps you to your feet, but your knees buckle so he throws one of your arms over his shoulder. You know the beskar must be heavy, but he doesn’t comment on it.   
“It’s good to see you, Trooper.”  
“Even better to see you, Lori. Let’s get out of here.”  
The three of you make your way through the halls, dodging stormtroopers and whispering frantic directions. When you reach a hangar, Poe is there waiting with your droid and his in front of a getaway ship. You raise a hand to wave at him, but a red saber pierces through him.   
“POE!!” You can’t help the frantic shout as his body falls to the floor. The destroyed head of your droid follows, then BB-8’s as well.   
Finn and Rey are gone, replaced by stormtroopers who drag you back to that horrible room and strap you back in. The faceless, nameless soldiers shut the door on your pained screams.   
The second time you’re rescued, Poe sneaks in alone to free you from your bonds. He makes a snarky comment about saving you, which you chuckle weakly at. He stares into your helmet visor for a moment as if to find your gaze and reassure himself that it’s you. Then you’re on your way again. R4 finds you halfway to a hangar and beeps excitedly at the sight of you. Before you know it, a blaster shot rips through you and you collapse to the cold hard floor.   
Poe is shot next, dropping in front of you. You have just enough time to watch him die and hear R4’s beeping drop off as he’s destroyed again. Then it all goes dark as you sink into excruciating pain.   
You experience your failed rescue a thousand times. Each time, someone different comes to save you and you’re forced to watch them die for your sake. Poe is run through with Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. Finn is tackled by a stormtrooper and the same unforgiving mask he wore for so long stares him down to his death. Chewie falls in a hailstorm of blaster bolts. Rey is choked by Kylo Ren. Your dear old droid is ripped apart by enemy machines. You even see your mother and grandfather lose their lives battling for your freedom.   
The next time you wake up, it’s to a pounding ache in your mind. Kylo Ren stands before you again. If you could see his face, you’d guess he was smirking in satisfaction at your obvious anguish. This had happened every day for the past three weeks.   
“Morning. What do you have in store for today, jailer?”  
“Are you ready to talk?”  
“Take a guess.”  
He stalks around you like a predator. He still seems to think he can intimidate you. He knows you’re afraid, but it’s not him you fear; only the loss he could cause you. But he also knows that anything in your life could cause you loss, so you’re no more afraid of him than you are of an illness or a freak accident.   
“It’s a wonder to me that you don’t feel afraid of any of this.”  
“You’ve wormed your way into my mind. You know exactly why you and the First Order don’t scare me like you wish you could.”  
“That’s true. But I know something that terrifies you.”  
You make a face at him that you know he can’t see beneath your helmet.   
“And what’s that?”  
“Lack of choice.”   
Without a second of warning, Ren lunges forward and rips your helmet off. The lights feel blinding then, though you know your helmet doesn’t dim light. Your breath catches in your throat and you choke back an instinctual sob. You know for certain that Ren is smirking proudly at his victory. You’ve broken at the loss of your most personal and valuable defense.   
“Hello there. It’s an honor to see your face. I’d guess few ever have.”  
You’re so overwhelmed and shocked that you have no response. Ren twists around in your mind again but your reserve has broken, leaving you in utter misery. Any hope of a real escape is quickly fading now. All you can manage to do is grip onto the important memories; dates, locations, names; and bury them under everything else. You’ll sooner allow this monster to sift through every detail of your life and taunt you with it than let him get any information on the Resistance.   
It takes another week before anything happens. Ren haunts your mind every minute. Even in your fitful sleep, he’s always there. Without your helmet or armor, which was removed shortly after the helmet, you feel exposed and lost. Your creed doesn’t forbid you from wearing it again and consciously, you know it doesn’t make you less of a Mandalorian. But it feels like you’ve lost something irreplaceable. The next time you jolt awake, an alarm is going off in your head. Someone is inside, trying to find you. Rey. She’s looking through your eyes to see the room. Her presence disappears as soon as your eyes meet the mirror one of the stormtroopers placed in your cell to further torment you.   
A few minutes later, your door opens again. You’ve been turned away from the door, but you figure it’s either Ren or another faceless trooper. You can’t stand another heartless First Order crony seeing your face against your will.   
“Don’t you get it by now? I’m not giving you what you’re looking for. And you’ve already pushed to the limit. Dig deeper if you want, but you’ll only destroy it all in the process. Checkmate.” You force a humorless chuckle, though you’re painfully aware of how broken it sounds.   
“Lori?” Finn. If there’s anyone you trust to see you now, you suppose it’s him.   
Once Finn is certain it’s you, he shuts his eyes tight and walks in. He has to feel around blindly, but he finds his way to you. It’s then that you realize he holds a stormtrooper’s helmet in his hands.   
“Finn?”  
“Poe’s finding your armor now. Rey is distracting as many people as she can. We need to go right now.”  
You tentatively nod, then realize Finn still has his eyes closed.   
“Okay, Finn.” He leans forward, trying not to touch you as he settles the stolen helmet on your head.   
Then he opens his eyes and moves to free you of the restraints you’ve been trapped in for a month. Your knees buckle, just like in so many versions of your failed escape. You aren’t certain this is any more real than all those nightmares. Either way, you let Finn half carry you down the halls. When you reach an intersection of paths, you stop for a second.   
“Finn, how can I believe this is real? You’ve come before, but I always end up back there.”  
“It’s me, Lori. I promise. I can try to prove it to you when we get out of here.”  
You can hear Chewie call for your attention when you reach a hangar. A group of stormtroopers come up from behind you, but then Rey is there with her lightsaber, deflecting every shot while Poe appears, moving at a dead sprint for the ramp of the Millenium Falcon. Faster than you can process, Finn throws you into the ship, then jumps in after you with Rey just behind.   
As Rey and Poe run for the controls and take off, you crumple to the floor. You’re hardly aware of R4 and BB-8 moving to either side of you while Finn sits in front of you and Chewie lets you lean back against him. Poe jumps the ship to hyperspace before coming back to sit with you as well. You missed it before, but he draws your attention to the sack he’d run to the ship with.   
“Your armor is here whenever you’re ready to put it back on. We can all give you space if you need it.”  
You can’t muster up a response. You’re still numb and hollow. So Poe returns to the controls with Rey. BB-8 rolls away to wait out the trip home with Chewie. The only ones who stay are Finn and R4. Finn tries to move, but you catch his wrist and he moves back to your side. R4 moves to your opposite side and extends a small claw hand to rest on your knee.   
“Gar cuyir morut’yc. Gar akaanir cuyir jaon. Tell me what you need, vod.”  
“I’m waiting to wake up in that cell with Ren staring at me. I don’t know how to tell that this is really happening.”   
Finn is heartbroken at the sound of your voice. When he heard it in the cell, it was completely unfiltered. It was hard and angry, more than he’s heard before, but it was purely you. Now it’s filtered through a modulator again, but it isn’t yours. You almost sound like you belong in that harsh white stormtrooper helmet. If not for the broken tone and shaking breaths, he would never question it.   
No one else approaches you for the remainder of the trip. When you come out of hyperspace, you flinch, but Finn doesn’t mention it. He just holds you a little closer. Chewie brings you a blanket from the small makeshift medbay on board, which you hold tightly around your shoulders. When you finally land at the familiar old base, you find you can’t move.   
Rey disembarks with BB-8 to run ahead to let Leia know you’ve returned and clear the way for you to get to your quarters. With an affirmative nod, Chewie gently picks you up and waits a moment to let you nestle into his warm fur. Poe and Finn follow on either side with R4 just ahead. Poe has your armor slung over his shoulder and one hand on your ankle while Finn rubs soothing circles over your shoulder.   
Leia comes by at some point to talk, but you can’t tell if any words come out of your mouth. Rey offers to stay with you, which you silently accept. Poe leaves your armor with her and goes with Finn to the mess hall to get you some food. You give Chewie a tight hug before he sets you on your bed and takes his leave. R4 hovers right beside you the whole time. Even when he lets out an involuntary beep that lets you know he’s low on power, he only moves to his charging station when you settle on the floor right beside it.   
Your food is dropped off and Finn gives you a quick hug before he leaves. Poe, feeling completely unsure of what to do and not wanting to upset you further, gently pats your helmeted head and whispers a goodbye before closing the door behind him. You’re alone then with Rey and R4.   
“I’m glad you’re back, Lori. And I’m sorry it took so long to get to you.”  
You nod almost unnoticeably, but Rey can tell, so she continues.   
“Poe and Finn have been worried sick about you. R4 too. He nearly tried to fight Poe, and when we were talking with some pirates, he almost attacked them. You’ve got a pretty great droid.”  
“Yeah, I guess I do.” Your voice is softer than you mean for it to be. If Rey can tell, she doesn’t say anything.   
“If you need to talk about what happened, or if I can do anything else to help, all you have to do is ask.” After a moment of thought, she adds, “You can even just reach out in your thoughts and I’ll be there. I won’t go looking into your mind of course, but-”  
“Can you look? At what happened, I mean.”  
“If that’s what you want. But I’ll never do that without your expressed permission. You’re safe now, physically and mentally. I promise you that.”  
“Thank you Rey.” You carefully shift to balance your tray on your lap and eat.   
Rey stayed with you the whole night. She filled you in on every detail since R4 returned with your ship. You knew Leia would be understanding and patient in waiting for an explanation of your month away, but for now all you could think of was sleep. So, with Rey’s gentle help, you curled up in your bed with your standard issue blanket and the additional blanket from the Falcon wrapped around you. Once the lights were turned off, you slipped the stormtrooper helmet off and let it fall to the floor.   
“Goodnight, Lori. Sleep well.”  
Though you’re unaware of it, Rey reaches out with the Force to calm your mind. For this one night at least, you feel at peace and settle into slumber without a hint of a dream or nightmare.


	7. Chapter 7

It takes eight days for you to leave your room. Rey is unable to visit much after taking on some of Poe’s responsibilities so the pilot can be with you almost constantly. Finn comes by a few times each day with food and Chewie even checks in once a day. You haven’t felt so loved and looked after since you were a child.   
When you do leave your quarters, Poe is right by your side. He doesn’t comment on your decision to leave your armor behind and wear the stormtrooper helmet Finn stole for you instead. Leia offers you words of support when you arrive at the control center and ask to speak with her privately. Once you’re in a closed conference room, you seem to crumble again and speak in a soft, quiet tone.  
“Thank you for speaking with me, Leia. I’m sorry it’s taken so long to approach you.”  
“Lori, there’s nothing for you to be sorry for.” Leia leaned back in her chair and fixed you with a firm but loving look. “Now, is there something I can do for you?”  
You tilted your helmet towards Poe, who was still standing beside you. He had figured when you said the conversation would be private that he would still be there. The first morning after your return, you’d asked him to stay with you and he wasn’t about to leave and force you to ask him to come back, too. Now though, you seemed to want him at least out of the room.   
“I’ll be right outside when you’re ready.”  
Your helmet nodded in thanks and he closed the door behind him.  
“General, I’d like to request that I remain grounded for the foreseeable future. I don’t think it would benefit anyone for me to be in the air and fall apart. I can still help, though. R4 and I can work with the droids and I’m a decent mechanic. I know I can’t be much of a warrior right now but-”  
“Lori. It’s okay. No one would expect you to run back out into the field. From my, admittedly limited, knowledge of the Mandalorians, your strength comes first and you can’t be strong enough to fight well if you don’t allow your wounds to heal. Take all the time you need. We’ll be lucky to have you as a mechanic.” Leia’s voice is fierce and strong as she talks to you. You know as well as anyone of her reputation, but actually hearing her talk like the Rebellion General you’ve heard about gives you a different feeling of comfort.   
“Thank you General. I’ll get to work-”  
“Tomorrow. You’re not going to push yourself even as a mechanic.”  
“Yes ma’am.”  
You leave the room first, starting down the hall with Poe following close behind. He knew what you were planning to talk about. He supported the decision fully and assured you of that on your way outside. You lead him beyond the base to the woods, weaving through the trees like you’ve done it your whole life. When you reach a small clearing, you sit down and motion for Poe to do the same.   
“Can I ask what we’re doing here?”  
“Breathing. I need to breathe right now.”  
You stay so perfectly still for so long that Poe is almost certain you’re asleep. He’s not sure how you can manage it. When he was briefly a prisoner of the First Order, he couldn’t fathom the idea of finding any kind of peace after. Finn had helped him escape and later stumbled through some sort of recovery with him, but you deserved more than that. You deserved the family and support system that your creed and your people held in such high esteem.   
After nearly three hours, you move. Your legs come uncrossed, you back leans against a tree behind you. Your helmet lifts to the sky as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Somehow, in the weeks you spent apart, every microexpression of yours has become crystal clear to Poe. It’s like opening a book he hadn’t read for years only to find that many of the lines are still seared in his memory.  
“I don’t think people spend enough time in the trees. I think if everyone did, the galaxy would be a better place for it.”  
“Yeah? Is that your philosophy?”  
“Yep.”  
Poe takes a chance and nudges your foot with his. As he hoped, you nudge him back and your helmet tilts the slightest bit towards him to show you’re listening.  
“Do you see a day when this could be the usual? When we could spend more days in nature than in war?”  
“Sure.” You make no comment on his use of ‘we.’ He hopes that means you’re open to the possibility. “I think there could be a day when war is more of a memory than an impending end to everything. When stories of days like today are the ones kids will laugh about and call boring since they can’t imagine it as something special. I dream of it.”  
“Kids? Or peace?”  
“Hm… Both.”  
You’ve never mentioned kids before. There was a mission once that you and Poe went on together when you stopped by a village and the children loved you. Poe was able to laugh and goof off with them while you told stories to entertain them. It was just one day before you had to get moving again. But it stuck in his mind for weeks. Now you’re opening up about children. And he feels closer to you than ever before.  
“I was a foundling, you know. My mother was too. My ba’buir found her when her village burned. This was during the rise of the Empire, when Darth Vader felt the need to show off how strong he was, so he burned everything in his path. Anyway, my mother was alone and too young to protect herself, so some slavers caught her. She got lucky; the first auction she was brought to happened to have a Mandalorian in attendance. He bought her immediately and she became his family.”  
“And she took up the creed, when?” Every word held such esteem. You truly loved your family and your history. Listening to you, Poe did too.   
“My ba’buir decided my mother deserved some remnant of her childhood, so he found a small Outer Rim planet and settled there. He never kept anything a secret from her, so when she came of age he offered her the creed and the armor. She took it up and got into bounty hunting. When the Empire fell, it got more dangerous. She found a baby one evening on some backwater planet with a name no one can remember. She left home for a week as a bounty hunter and came home as a buir. He was so proud of her.”  
Poe has no frame of reference, but he swears he can hear you holding back tears. As the sun sets, the fading light reflects off the white helmet that has only represented pain and suffering for so long. But now, as Poe considers the Mandalorian beneath it, he finds the helmet stands for strength. It stands for you so long as you wear it.  
“I never met them, but I know they’d both be proud of you too.”  
“Thank you Poe.”   
With a soft groan, you finally stand up. Poe can guess your joints are sore; his definitely are. When you’re both on your feet again, he offers his arm. You know it’s not for physical support since you had the strength to stand and walk by your second day back, so you take it. Somehow, in the days since your return, you’ve found that Poe has an undeniably calming effect on you. A month ago, you never believed that could be true. But quite a bit has changed in a month, so you suppose that can too.


	8. Chapter 8

“Max! Let’s move!” You glance back to the mouse droid holding your toolbox. “R4 will beat us there and we’ll have to hear his teasing all day.”  
You’ve found a sort of peace in your work as a mechanic. All the droids seem to like you and there’s very little talking required. You get to spend your days with machinery and your thoughts, which is better on some days than others. As often as possible, Finn joins you and you continue teaching him Mando’a. Poe brings you dinner most days and walks you back to your quarters so you can eat. He never asks to see your face and he never mentions the state of your armor.   
The paint has chipped and worn, and sitting in a corner is doing it no favors. You still have yet to wear even your beskar helmet, opting instead to don the white stormtrooper one. Finn has jokingly called you Trooper a few times, but you don’t realize he does it only when you look like you’re about to break again. You still have yet to understand how well he and Poe and Rey know you.   
Max, your pieced together mouse droid, has served you well since you assembled him from scraps during your first week back. He carries your toolbox and fits easily under any machinery you’re repairing to bring you whatever you need. R4 has taken a liking to him as well, treating him like a little brother and always looking out for him. You make your way down to your station, your coveralls half unzipped and tied around your waist.   
“Showing some skin today, Lori? How scandalous! What would your buir say?”  
“How about ‘stuff it pilot and get back to work’? How’s that sound?”  
“Funny.” Poe meets you at your table with R4 beside him. You don’t see BB-8, so you figure he’s shadowing Rey while she trains.  
“Did you need something Dameron? Or did you just want to see my plastoid head?”  
“As beautiful as the helmet is, I wanted to make sure it was okay for me to join you again tonight. I’m headed out tomorrow and I wanted to talk with you first.”  
“Yeah, no problem. As long you’re okay with me working a little late.” At Poe’s hurt expression, you chuckle. “I’ve got work! We just got a small batch of old Imperial droids that I need to reprogram. I want them up and running by the end of the week.”  
“You’re not overworking yourself, right?”  
“Mandalorian’s honor.” You made a goofy gesture to show your honesty and Poe let it slide with a chuckle that made you smile beneath the helmet.   
He spent most of the morning with you as you pulled apart most of the wiring on a dusty old Imperial Security droid. You rambled about other droids you’d been working on between Poe’s stories of recent missions and briefings you hadn’t attended.   
“Honestly, I’m glad to miss the long meetings. They’re so boring that half the time I used to just shut off the microphones in my helmet and talk to myself. I never actually knew what they were talking about.”  
“That’s why you never looked at anyone when they talked. I always assumed you were super focused on Mandalorian Resistance business.”  
“What would that even be?” You try to keep a straight face, but can’t help the chuckle that escapes.   
“I don’t know! I was too nervous to ask you what it would be.”  
“You are hopeless Dameron.”  
“You’re just figuring this out now?”  
You both find laughter comes more easily together. Even the creeping fear that any minute you could wake up back with the First Order seems to fade with Poe’s laughter and goofy stories. He never makes you feel unsafe or pressured. And that’s when it hits you. Poe Dameron, the most insane person you know, the only one who would mouth off to Kylo Ren in front of his stormtroopers, the only one who would pick a fight with your own droid over your safety, is the first person outside of your aliit that you want to have knowing your name.   
You lose yourself in the thought for just a moment. Your name is as precious to you as your face. Letting him see you is something you’re not ready for yet, especially after what the First Order did. But you actually like the idea of hearing your name spoken aloud; of hearing it from him. So, without letting yourself overanalyze it, you make up your mind to tell him your name before he leaves. Besides, you reason, if he dies on this mission, then you haven’t really shared your name after all.   
You’re able to snap back to the conversation before Poe notices you drift off. You keep chatting with him until lunch, when he goes to make his last preparations and checkups. You continue with your work. R4 and Max play for a short while and make rhythmic beeping sounds that only you would recognize as music to keep you company. The hours pass more quickly than you realize. By the time you have the first droid ready to power up, Poe is back with dinner.   
“Hey Dameron. I’m almost done.” Max rolls over to greet Poe while you finish packing up your tools and call for R4.   
The walk back to your quarters is a short one and before you know it, you’re settling in for dinner. You quickly set up a simple screen that Poe sits beside and faces the door. His efforts to ensure he doesn’t see your face only makes you more certain of your decision to tell him your name. You slip off the helmet and set it on top of Max, who rolls it over to your bedside.   
“Do you know how long you’ll be gone?”  
“No more than a week. If I’m as good of a pilot as I think I am, I’ll be back within three days.”  
“I don’t think anyone is as good of a pilot as you think you are.” Your chuckle sounds even more beautiful to Poe without a modulator to filter it.   
“You know, I think you’re getting funnier every day Lori.”  
“Why thank you.” You take your time on the next bite of your food.   
“Lori, what’s on your mind?”  
“Y/N.” You couldn’t think of any way to lead up to it, so you just blurted it out.   
“What?”  
“My… name. It’s Y/N.”  
Poe couldn’t respond for nearly a full minute. He knew perfectly well how important this information was to you. Your decision to trust him with it made his brain short-circuit.   
“Dameron? You still there?”  
“Yeah…” His voice was weak and startled.   
“Are you okay?”  
“Are you?”  
“‘Course I am. I’m better than I have been for a while actually.”  
“I just figured I’d ask. You… you trust me that much?”  
You don’t believe he should even have to ask that. Of course you trust him. Beyond your mother and grandfather, he and Finn are the first people you’ve trusted enough to share things like your name or face. Finn is your brother, your vod. And Poe is…  
What is Poe to you, exactly?  
“I trust you, yes. How could I not? You’ve been here to help me and I believe that you won’t share my name.”  
“Have you… told anyone else? Finn?”  
“Not yet. He’s very close to me, of course. And so is Rey. But you’re the first person I’ve really wanted to know my name.”  
“Can I say it?” His voice is soft and unsure as he asks.   
“Yeah..” You can’t help but laugh gently at the question. “Yeah, you can say it.”  
The room is silent for a moment while Poe gathers the courage to say your name. Neither of you miss how momentous this moment is and it’s reassuring that he feels it as much as you do. R4 and Max watch the entire exchange from their charging stations.   
“Y/N.” The first time, you nearly cry on instinct.   
“Yep.”   
“Y/N.” The second time, Poe sounds more confident and you keep fighting the tears in your eyes.   
“That’s me.”  
“...Y/N.” The third time, he says your name with such love and tenderness that the tears do fall.   
“Poe.” You trust that he knows how grateful you are to hear your name again.   
The rest of the night passes peacefully. R4 turns off the lights, allowing his and Max’s charging lights to cast a soft glow over the room. You and Poe talk until nearly midnight. You keep the subject light the whole time and Poe takes every opportunity to say your name. The conversation only ends when Poe drifts off mid-sentence and finally mumbles a goodnight.   
“I should get back to my room…”  
“It’s fine, Poe. You can stay here.”   
You insisted an hour before that he sit on your bed while you curled up with a blanket beside R4. He’s sitting on your bed then, his eyes dropping closed every few minutes as he tries to argue that he should go to avoid any risk of seeing your face.   
“Dameron, listen to me. You’re leaving early in the morning and you need all the sleep you can get in the meantime. Go to sleep. You won’t see my face.”  
He doesn’t respond for a minute, so you assume that he fell asleep. Just before you do the same, you hear one last thing from Poe.  
“...g’night, Y/N…”  
You dream that night of each time Poe spoke your name aloud. You figure it’s a sound you could listen to for the rest of your life.


	9. Chapter 9

After two months spent on the ground working as a mechanic and three weeks of hearing Poe say your name in whispered late night conversations, you finally feel ready to take another step forward. When Poe gets back from another mission, he’s greeted with the sight of your stormtrooper helmet and a special request.  
“Finn and Rey are already in my room, but I wanted you there too.”  
“Can I ask what this project is that’s so important?”  
“You’ll see.”  
When the door to your room opens, Finn and Rey look up from the tarp set up on your floor. Each piece of your armor is set out separated from each other. A few cans of paint and a variety of brushes sit beside it. R4 and Max are there as well.  
“Lori, are you sure you want all of us here for this?”  
“I’m certain. I’ve thought this over for a while. It was time I redid the paint anyway, and I really want the three of you with me.”  
You told Poe once about what the paint on your armor meant to you. Your grandfather had painted his armor teal to represent his healing journey and the healing that came with a family of his own. When he reforged the armor for your mother, she kept the same color for her own healing. You hadn’t felt it right to change the paint when the armor and creed were passed to you. But now, with all that’s happened, you feel ready to define yourself.  
You and Poe join Finn, Rey, and your droids on the floor. You take hold of your helmet first. The beskar shines in the light for the first time since your grandfather painted it. You had spent an entire day scrubbing every speck of paint off in order to start fresh. To get a better view of your work, you stop and look to your closest friends.  
“Promise none of you will say anything.”  
“About what?”  
“Of course.” Rey tries to question what’s about to happen, but Poe immediately promises.  
You take a deep breath and steel your nerves. One hand holds your beskar helmet beside you while the other reaches up to the white helmet on your head. All three of your companions immediately close their eyes as you remove the helmet. Once you set it aside, you look at them and laugh softly.  
“Guys?”  
“Yeah, Lori?”  
“The point was for you to have your eyes open. I can’t have you help if you have your eyes closed the whole time.”  
Finn is the first to hesitantly open his eyes. He takes a moment to study your face. You look less broken than he feared you might, which is comforting. You give him a slight smile and you can see the joy in his eyes as he commits the sight to memory.  
Rey follows next. She can’t seem to focus on one part of your face, allowing her eyes to flicker over every detail. You can see tears in her eyes at the trust you’ve placed in her. She’d occasionally wondered what having a sister might be like, and now she knows.  
Poe opens his eyes last. He looks first at your forehead, then your ears, down to your chin. He follows some invisible path along your mouth, cheeks, nose. Then he reaches your eyes. In that exact moment, he knows no color will ever be as startlingly beautiful as the hue of your eyes with the light in your room shining in them. In the next instant, he realizes that he has no idea how to read your facial expressions. But the smile that grows on your face tells them all very clearly that you trust and love them more than anyone in the galaxy.  
“I know I said you can’t say anything, but I guess I’d like it if you could say something.”  
“Thank you for trusting us, Lori.”  
“How could I not? You’re my aliit.”  
With an accepting nod from you, all three of them scramble around your armor for a hug. Rey wraps one arm around your shoulder, Finn’s arm on top of hers. Poe settles behind you with his head resting against the base of your neck and his arms around your waist. Even R4 and Max join the affection, racing up to sit in front of you while R4 extends a claw to gently tap your nose. You’re laughing then, and the others do the same. You don’t know when the light tears start to fall, but they do and suddenly both of your vod, your brother and sister, are gently wiping them from your cheeks and begging you not to cry.  
“It’s okay, it’s okay! I just- I know I’ve made the right decision with all of you.”  
After a few more minutes, you all manage to calm down. Your eyes are dry again and you circle up around the still gleaming pieces of armor. R4 starts a humming sound as he often used to when he knew you were nervous, but stays quiet enough for you to speak.  
“Okay. Now that that’s done.” You take another deep breath so your voice wouldn’t break. “It’s time I painted my armor for myself.”  
You pick up the first can of paint and pop it open. Poe hands you a brush and you swirl it a little in the thick maroon paint. The first stroke of color on your helmet feels like a new beginning. For the first time, you start to feel like the history of your family belongs to you; like you’re ready to take your place in it all.  
Each of you picks up a brush and a piece of armor. You tell your family what the two colors you’ve chosen mean. The deep, rich maroon color to represent strength and power. In balance, the pale green to represent what your strength will be used for; your desire for peace. You know, after days of contemplation, exactly what you want the armor to look like, so you give specific instructions as your dearest companions help. Even the droids get involved, with R4 grabbing a brush and beeping at Max to hold still while he gives the little droid a swath of soft green paint. Max whirring happily at the inclusion in your family.  
By the end of the day, you’re all sprawled out on the floor of your room. Your armor is spread out around you to dry. R4 and Max have fresh coats of paint in designs of your own making, which you had applied while Rey and Poe went to grab lunch. Finn helped, taking a bit of creative license himself at your encouragement. You’ve never felt so free and peaceful.  
“Thank you all for your help.”  
“We’re happy to do it.” Poe’s words cut short, and you know he was about to say your name. He’s still the only one who knows it.  
“I want you to know I really mean it. Family means everything to a Mandalorian and you’ve become family to me. I don’t think I could have made a better choice.”  
Finn leans over to rest his hand on your shoulder. He tilts his head to face you, as he’s spent most of the day doing. All three of them have spent the day trying to memorize every part of your face, as if afraid they’ll never see it again. You figure there’s nothing you could say to properly assuage those fears, so you ignore it for now and choose instead to focus on your brother.  
“We’re honored to be your family, Lori. And we’re glad to see you getting better.”  
“Well, I was pretty fantastic anyway, but I’m glad I can still go up from there.”  
You all laugh lightly together. They all know that you don’t like getting bogged down in serious conversations, though you’re by no means closed off with them. You just like to make the most of your time with them. So, for the next two hours before you all fall asleep, that’s exactly what you do.


	10. Chapter 10

You go out in the field for the first time since your capture after a year on the ground. You find great fulfillment in working with the droids and ships. It feels easy and comfortable, and Leia tells you it makes a world of difference. Poe, Finn, and Rey support you fully and spend time with you as much as possible. Poe in particular spends nearly every minute on the ground at your side.

R4 and Max receive plenty of compliments on their paint, though the whole base is careful not to comment on yours. You’re hardly more open with them than you used to be. The only real evidence they have that you aren’t a surly grump is the laughter that comes from your workstation whenever Poe is around. 

In the evenings, you and Poe return to your clearing to meditate and talk. On some days, Finn and Rey join you. Once, Finn brings dinner for you all and you eat among the trees and peaceful evening light. Life feels good, and you decide you’re ready for a new fight. 

“Are you absolutely certain that you’re ready for this?”

“Are you doubting my capabilities, Dameron? You do know I’m a Mandalorian, right?”

Poe sighs heavily as he waits just beside your ship. He knows this conversation can’t go well. 

“Of course I know what you can do, Lori. I’m just saying, I worry about you. It’s been a long time and I don’t want to lose you again.”

“You never lost me, cyare. I screwed up one time. It won’t happen again.”

You grab your bag and set it in the ship, standing aside for R4 to board while you keep talking. 

“And besides; it’s not like I’m starting a fight or running a stealth mission. I’m heading to a market on Florrum to get some rare parts and sell off these droids I fixed up. I’ll be gone for a few days at most and R4 and I can manage.”

As if to prove your point, your faithful droid beeps loudly from the cargo hold. He’s warmed up to Poe considerably, but still has plenty of attitude for him. 

“I didn’t say you were incompitent, R4! You worry about her too, don’t you? I don’t think I’m being unreasonable.”

You step up on the ramp of the ship to see Poe at eye level. He stares into your visor and seems to find your eyes immediately, as he always does.

“Poe. You aren’t being unreasonable. I know you’re worried, and I’m touched by your concern. But you know that I’m a big bad Mandalorian and I can handle myself. If it makes you feel better, I’ll comm you when I get there and when I leave.”

“Yeah, alright. And I’m watching Max while you’re gone?”

“As long as you’re willing, yeah. If you get busy, Rey said she’ll help. Just don’t let her drop a tree on him; he doesn’t have the tolerance that BB-8 does for that stuff.”

Poe nods reassuringly and your helmet dips down and up in return. You lean forward and press your forehead to his, a gesture he’s become familiar with over the past months. You told him once that it was an affectionate gesture, which he gladly accepted. You rest a hand on his shoulder, and linger for just a moment before R4 beeps again and you both straighten up again. 

“Alright, Dameron. I’m off. I’ll tell the stars hello for you. And maybe that weequay you told me about too.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have mentioned her.”

Poe chuckles at your comment and waves goodbye as you slowly take off. He can’t seem to move until you’re out of sight entirely. Even then, he just turns to Max and BB-8. 

“What do you think, boys? She’ll be okay, right? I’m worrying for nothing.”

The droids show no concern themselves, so Poe tries to focus on his own work. He spends all day working on his X-wing, filing reports, and taking any odd jobs Leia can offer him. Anything to keep his mind off of you.

Hours later, his comm beeps and he immediately drops what he’s doing to answer. He’s relieved to know that he can call you by name in the empty room. 

“Y/N?”

“Hey, Dameron. I made it to Florrum safe and sound. I’m just unloading the ship now. I think my armor will be pretty impressive here; one twi’lek saw me and took off running. It feels pretty good to be intimidating again.”

“Oh, I think you were born intimidating sweetheart. Your buir just trained it and now you’re downright terrifying.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“As you should.”

Your comm falls silent for a moment and just when Poe gets concerned, R4’s familiar beeps and whirs come over the channel. 

“Hey R4. Yeah, I miss you too bud. Thank you for keeping our vhett safe.”

“Hey, I keep myself safe!” 

Your voice is somewhat distant now, and Poe figures you’re unloading while he talks with your droid.

“Of course!”

R4 beeps again and Poe can’t help but laugh. It’s remarkable how different his conversations with the droid have become. 

“Alright, cyare. I’ll have to let you go. I promise I’ll comm again when I’m finished.”

“You promise you’ll be safe too, Y/N? You’re not gonna pick a fight?”

“Oh please. I don’t pick fights,-”

“They pick you. Yeah.”

“Exactly. Bye Poe.”

“Goodbye Y/N.”

Despite his best efforts, Poe has yet to figure out what that word means. Cyare. You haven’t offered a definition and Finn doesn’t know either. Rey is still a bit behind on her own learning of Mando’a, so she can’t help. With the way you say it, he’s felt too nervous to ask you directly for fear of making you embarrassed or self-conscious. So, for now at least, he just trusts that it’s a kind term that shows your close bond. 

Poe passes the rest of the week with the droids and his friends. Surprisingly, he doesn’t worry about you as much as he expected. He knows that you can defend yourself and that even if something did happen, Oland could keep the peace on Florrum. So he delves into his work and focuses on what he can actually control. 


	11. Chapter 11

This trading mission is pretty boring, but it helps you get back in the swing of things. R4 helps you unload and get your goods to the market, then irritatedly stays under the table for most of the day. You manage to get the parts you need for the Resistance and even sell off some of your fixed up pieces. Near the end of the day, as you pack up to return to your ship for the night, a weequay approaches your booth. 

“Hey, sorry. I’m done for the day, but I’ll be here tomorrow.”

“You’re a Mandalorian?”

You look up from a box beside you and R4 rumbles beneath the table. 

“Who’s asking?”

“Oland wants to know if you’re the Mandalorian the Resistance was looking for a while back.”

You look the guy up and down. He doesn’t seem very threatening. He doesn’t even carry a blaster or a blade. 

“Yeah. That’s me.”

“She’d like to see you if you’ve got the time.”

“No problem.”

You vault over the table and R4 follows behind you as the weequay leads you to the center of the city. Another weequay, well-dressed and holding a drink in her hand, is waiting at the front doors. You figure that’s Oland.

“Mandalorian!”

“Most people call me Lori. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Oland.”

She welcomes you with a wide smile and waves you inside. 

“The pleasure is all mine, Lori. Hello again, droid.”

R4 beeps back at her and she chuckles. 

“Yes, it’s been a while. I’m glad to see you safe and sound. Both of you.”

“I’d like to thank you for your help, Oland. My brother told me what you did for him and the others when they came here.”

“Oh, I was happy to help.” 

Oland settles in a comfortable chair when you reach a sort of sitting room and gestures for you to sit in the one across from her. 

“I told your friends; I may be a pirate, but I don’t allow slaving or anything of the sort. The boys who took you were punished severely and now serve as a reminder that I’m not a forgiving person.”

“It’s nice to know we have a friend in the pirating business.”

You spend over an hour in conversation with Oland. You find she’s quite easy to talk to and she has a good sense of humor too. Your laughter only dies when she starts reminiscing on her encounter with your friends.

“They were quite an intimidating group.”

“I think we get that a lot. Wookies have a reputation for a reason. And force-sensitives.”

“Of, I don’t mean the wookie. I’m talking about your droid and that pilot of yours.”

“Poe?” 

You aren’t surprised that R4 would be angry and looking for a fight with you gone. But Poe? He was a fighter when necessary, sure; but intimidating?

“Yes; he nearly attacked the whole crew when they came in. The wookie actually had to hold him back. You should count yourself lucky to have a man who loves you that much.”

The words hit you like a brick wall. A man who loves you? Poe doesn’t love you. He’s your best friend, sure, but you don’t have that kind of relationship. 

“I suppose I should.”

You know your voice is quieter, but you try to push it aside. 

“I’ve seen my fair share of the galaxy, and that pilot showed a sort of angry determination I’ve only seen from a person in love. It’s good for everyone that he got you back.”

You keep talking for a while longer, but your heart isn’t in it. R4 finally beeps to complain of a low battery, so you say your goodbyes and make your way back to the ship. 

With R4 plugged in and the ship locked down for the night, you remove your armor. You turn out the lights, settle in your bed. But your mind is still racing. Does Poe love you? And, more importantly at the moment, do you love him?

You think back on every interaction with him, now numbering beyond what you could have guessed after your first conversation. You reflect on his attempts to befriend you. No one made an effort like that with a Mandalorian. With Finn, it had been easy. He just talked with you like you were anyone else. He never worried about saying the wrong thing, so you didn’t either. That’s what made the former stormtrooper such a good brother. 

Poe tried so hard to get you to like him. Every conversation was thought out in advance. He tried to learn more about Mandalore and your people so he could be more considerate. He brought you meals. Listened when you talked. Learned your language. Nothing he did ever had an ulterior motive. All he ever did was try to help you and make you happy. 

Family was everything to you. And your buir never taught you to believe that falling in love was necessary to have a family. Finn was your brother; Rey was your sister. R4 was your snarky guardian and Max your innocent kid. Strange as it was, the droids were closer to you than nearly anyone. Your siblings and Poe being the only exceptions. Until now, you’d never thought much about romantic love playing a part in your life. 

So why did it matter now? Why were your thoughts consumed by every small thing Poe did? The way he held your armor when he helped you paint it. The way he knew exactly which tool you would ask for next when you were working and had it ready immediately. The soft sound of your name coming from him in the dark evenings. The willingness he showed to meditate with you or watch the stars or run through the trees. 

Every little thing he did overwhelmed you with love. How had you not seen it before? 

And, honestly, now that you were thinking about it, you did a great many little things out of love too.

Each time you would check him for injuries after a mission in case he was lying when he said he was fine. Every meal you wanted to share with him. Telling him your name. Showing him your face. Confiding in him when you could have chosen to turn to someone else. Allowing him to see every part of your life you used to hide.

You fall asleep on this distant dessert planet after a life changing revelation. In the morning, you rush to sell off the rest of your goods, buy the last ship part you need. You stop by to give Oland a hurried goodbye and then you’re furiously punching coordinates into the control panel and seconds after clearing Florrum’s atmosphere, you make the jump to hyperspace. 

R4 rolls up beside you to watch as you fidget with your hands and tap on the armrest of the pilot’s seat. After a few minutes, he beeps curiously at you. 

“I just want to get home, R4. I have something important to tell Poe.”

He beeps again and you snap your head down to look at him. 

“Yes, I realized I’m in love with him. How do you know that?”

He whirs and you throw your hands up. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? Your job is to help me and I think telling me I’m hopelessly, stupidly in love with my best friend qualifies as helping!”

Now your droid gets defensive.

“It does too count! And leaving me to figure it out myself took way too long. How long have you known?”

R4 knows he’ll need to distract you while you wait out the trip through hyperspace, so he responds as he heads out of the cockpit. As he hoped, you follow.

“Really?! So you just watched me fall more and more in love after that and said nothing to anyone?”

R4 just beeped softly in confirmation.

You sighed frustratedly and dropped down on your bed. Your helmet rested beside you and the comlink you reserved for talking with Poe sat atop the small set of drawers right next to R4. 

“I guess I’m stupider than I thought. I’ll have to tell him when I get back. Do you think he knows?”

R4 just gave a tired beep and turned to you. He didn’t even need to say it; you knew exactly how he felt about the likelihood of that.

“Yeah, alright. If he hasn’t figured it out by now, I’ll have to spell it out for him. Why couldn’t my buir have taught me how to do this? Fighting is my strong suit; not confessions.”


	12. Chapter 12

Finn finds Poe at your workstation the day you’re set to come home. 

“Poe? You said you needed something?”

“I’m in trouble.”

Finn just gives his friend a confused look, so Poe tries to explain while he paces around the table and scattered parts. 

“Well, I’m in love with Y/N.”

“Congrats. You’re the last to know.”

Poe gives him a frustrated look, so he gestures for him to continue.

“I realized it last night and then when I woke up this morning, Y/N’s comm was on. She was saying something about talking to me and that it was important. What else could it be?”

“Plenty of things. But whatever it is, you should tell her how you feel anyway. She has a right to know. If she doesn’t already.”

Finn’s last sentence stops Poe in his tracks. He whirls around to face him again with terror in his eyes.

“Why would you say that?!”

Finn can’t help but laugh. 

“You’ll be fine, Poe. It’s not like she’d tell you she doesn’t feel the same way.”

“How could you be sure?”

“Because I see the way she looks at you, even with her helmet on. And how she says your name, or teases you. She’s no more discreet about it than you are.”

Finn spends the entire day trying to calm Poe down. BB-8 and Max try help by running around the base to find things he likes and bring them back to him. When Rey has some free time, she joins them and tries to assure Poe that everything will be fine. Nothing seems to put him at ease though, until you comm in to announce your return. 

“Trooper! You wanna help me unload?”

Finn is happy to help out, and Rey offers to help too. Though you try to participate as well, R4 nudges you toward Poe. 

“R4, stop. I can talk to him later. I still don’t know for sure what I’m gonna say.”

You unload the ship, bring the crates into the base, then unpack everything and put it all in its proper place. Poe is nowhere to be seen the whole time, though you make little effort to find him until you have nothing else to do. Once your work is finished, R4 herds you out of your workroom and through the base. You aren’t sure where he wants you to go until you reach the edge of the woods. 

“Alright, R4. I get the message. I’ll go.”

You move between the trees through the fading light with practiced ease. When you reach the clearing, Poe is there. He looks like he’s meditating, with his eyes closed and his hands resting on his knees. But you can tell by the tense set of his jaw and the slight furrow of his brows that he’s nervous. Uncomfortable. 

“Hey, cyare. I made it back safe.”

“I’m glad.”

He knows. He definitely knows. How are you supposed to say it now? The only vague plan you’d come up with had depended on him not knowing. 

“You were okay while I was gone?”

“Yep. Max was well behaved.”

Neither of you can even try to continue the conversation. For a few minutes, you just sit there together in silence. And then, before you can overthink it any further, your helmet drops to the forest floor and you steel your nerves.

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum.”

Your eyes lock on Poe’s. He stares at you with what you’ve finally come to recognize as love. His words are a bit slow and uncertain, but you can tell it’s not because of the meaning, rather pronouncing the words correctly.

“Who taught you those words?”

You can’t help that your voice is small and soft from the shock of what he’s said. You never taught him how to say that one simple but incredibly meaningful phrase. You’d never considered that he might need the words and, so as far as you knew, no one else could have taught him either.

“I said it right, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, yeah you did.”

You drop to your knees in front of Poe and he shuffles to sit up more. He seems to relax at your teary smile and moves to run his thumb across your cheek. 

“I… I was actually gonna say that to you, but I’m glad you did it first.”

“It took me the whole day to do it. When I saw your ship land, I thought I might pass out. I’ve been sitting here ever since trying to pull myself together.”

You can’t stop the light laugh that comes from you at the image of your sweet, confident pilot passing out at the mere thought of talking to you. 

“I guess I haven’t actually come a very long way since we met.”

“Oh, sure you have. And you got me to go along with you.”

You settle in beside him, pulling off your pauldron to more comfortably rest against him. When you rest your head on his shoulder, he drops his head to yours. 

“I mean it, you know. You changed my life the day you stumbled into it. And you kept on changing it when you insisted on being my friend. And, if you’ll have me, I think you could change it forever.”

“I don’t think I’m the one who would let this go. You’re the greatest person I’ve ever met and if I did lose you, BB-8 would have to get my head checked.”

You laugh again, that beautiful, full-hearted laugh that Poe wants to hear for the rest of his life. He laughs with you, feeling happier than he can ever remember. You pass the rest of the evening together. Few words are shared, but it doesn’t matter. Night falls, the moon illuminates your little clearing. Some time after midnight, R4 comes through the trees to beckon you back inside. So you stand, intertwine your fingers with Poe’s. He grabs your helmet and pauldron on the way, slipping it back over your head after handing the pauldron to R4. 

“I forgot to ask; why were you so nervous to see me? I get the whole ‘I love you’ thing, I was nervous too. But there was something else, wasn’t there?”

“I heard you on the comm this morning. You said you needed to talk to me when you got back. I panicked and figured you found out I was in love with you and you were going to yell at me or something.”

“Oh! You anxious baby! I would never yell at you, I promise.”

You look over to your droid and huff quietly. 

“R4 on the other hand, might need a stern talking to.”

The droid gives an indignant beep, defending his actions and the results of them.

“Regardless of how it turned out, R4, you can’t keep ratting us out to each other.”

Poe tries to sound stern, but you can’t stop the light laughter as you pass out of the trees. 

“He’s right, R4. You have to play nice from now on. My rotten little astromech.”

R4 beeps back at you and Poe nods in agreement. 

“Yeah, buddy. We’ll be upfront with each other too.”

Finn and Rey happily greet you at the door leading back into the base. From the look they give you, they already know what’s happened. Max and BB-8 welcome you back too in a flurry of beeps and whirs. 

“So… how are you two?”

“Shut up, trooper.”

You shove his shoulder as you all head down the hall. It’s late, leaving the halls empty and quiet. It’s the kind of peace you’ve always hoped for. The kind you’re fighting for. It’s a short walk to your room, where Finn and Rey leave you. You stop just inside the door to look at Poe once more.

“Goodnight, my brave, awkward pilot.”

“And goodnight to you, my terrifying rebel of Mandalore.”

With a cursory glance around the hallway to be sure you’re alone, you slip your helmet back off. You move a half step closer, and Poe gets the message to lower his forehead to meet yours. His eyes drift closed as he smiles that dopey, brighter than the suns of Tatooine smile. You know your smile must be close to the same, though you doubt anyone could match his smile. 

After a long moment, you both step back and Poe moves down the hall, trying to walk backwards to watch you and immediately running into the wall. You close your door as you stifle your laughter. Your pilot. His rebel. You were in for a world of teasing and gloating from your aliit when you got up next. 


End file.
